FACE robot crosses over uncanny valley many times over

The FACE robot is highly creepy, sending us over to the uncanny valley many times over by coming in the form of a highly realistic robot – at least in terms of facial expressions. For those who are not familiar with the term “uncanny valley”, it is the “place” where you are when drawn into a creepy sensation in your gut as you come across a robot which looks really realistic, although it has yet to be realistic enough to make a pass for an actual human.

Karl MacDorman, associate professor of human-computer interaction at Indiana University told CNN, “When there are elements that are both human or nonhuman, this mismatch can produce an eerie sensation in the brain. It’s when different parts of the brain are coming to different conclusions at the same time.”

The FACE robot is able to register anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, and surprise, with 32 different motors required to control all the “muscles” in her head as well as upper torso.